Sunday, February 12, 2012

Life Coaching Education From Surprising Places

Life coaching education comes to us when we listen for it. It's in the theater, movies, on the radio and television, even, as I recently discovered, at the opera. Granted, these snippets of coaching are not generally life changing like on-going coaching is, however they are educational and a spring-board of information that can be inspiring, thought provoking, and worth of your processing time.

In the last couple of weeks, various life coaching education lessons have caught my attention, and I would like to share them with you now.

Accountability Coaching from Opera

Recently, the Los Angeles Opera presented Wagner's Ring Cycle-an epic mythology of gods, dwarfs, heroes and men. In the story, Wotan, the king of all gods, has established and agreed to follow the rules of conduct, including the sacredness of marriage and absolute conformity to his commands. When he later wants to take exception to the rules to satisfy his own selfish purposes, his wife offers him some very useful accountability coaching.

She takes it very personally and is livid with him, which is something you would be trained not to do in your life coaching education. She catches him each time he tries to rationalize his actions, points out where he is deceitful to himself and to her, and reminds him that the cost of breaking his commitments will be harsh. She will only be humiliated, but he will suffer scorn from his subjects, and ultimately, his demise as a god. This is a powerful lesson.

Life Coaching Education through Cable TV

HBO cable television broadcasts a documentary series called Masterclass, that features young artists working with a celebrated mentor in creative or performing arts. I watched choreographer Bill T. Jones work with two high school students creating a dance routine with added dialogue. What I heard was some inspired coaching. At one point, when Bill felt the dancers were too timid, not pushing their own envelope enough, he said "Be the hero. Let your strength overcome whatever is negative for you."

Later, he said "Work harder, make more difficult choices to develop your artistry." With his direction he shows his "clients" they do indeed embody heroism, strength, and the ability to pour more of themselves into what their performance with the added ability to conquer any difficulties they may find. This is great coaching, right? Would you put forth your best with a coach who has such faith in you?

Keep your mind open for those lessons in life coaching education that come your way. If you pay attention, you'll discover examples of inspired coaching coming from many places, to offer an extra dimension in your favorite entertainment. Sad to say, I don't believe my opera tickets are tax deductible!